A fast Google search will yield numerous recipes for Nantucket Christmas Cranberry Pie. It’s everywhere, but there are variations: some with a little more almond extract, some with a coating of sugar, and some with melted butter rather than softened. But the one thing they all have in common is that it’s a dessert that’s more cake than pie, and it’s incredibly wonderful.

It’s simple to make and even simpler to enjoy, and it’s guaranteed to become a holiday tradition in your home. You just need a few ingredients to prepare it, and the best part is that it’s a “pie” that doesn’t require any pie crust. First, combine the cranberries, granulated sugar, and pecans in a mixing bowl. Isn’t it simple? Cranberries, either fresh or frozen, work well in this recipe.

Then you’ll essentially make a cake batter. Butter, eggs, sugar, flour, salt, and almond extract, to name a few ingredients. The cranberry mixture is placed in the pie plate, followed by the batter.

The batter surrounds the cranberries and emerges as one unified ooey-gooey pie cake after baking for, say, forty minutes. It’s a simple and homey dessert, but those are typically my favorites! As the saying goes, “simple is best,” and this clearly demonstrates that.